Powell Duffryn to pay to reimburse federal cleanup efforts

The Savannah Fire Department will receive more than $300,000 to purchase equipment to boost its HazMat operations.

Posted: Sunday, September 23, 2001

More than six years after a huge fire required the evacuation of some 2,000 Savannah residents, the company responsible has been ordered to pay nearly $2 million to the federal government.

The order came from U.S. District Judge B. Avant Edenfield Friday.

In addition to the $1.8 million Powell Duffryn Terminals Inc. will pay, the company will also spend $320,000 to buy HazMat equipment for the Savannah Fire Department.

"I'm glad we got a chance to address our needs, as opposed to straight punitive judgment that didn't take (us) into account," said Operations Chief John Rintoul.

The fire

There was an explosion at Powell Duffryn on April 10, 1995, when an electrical spark touched off turpentine vapors leaking from a storage tank. The fire burned intermittently for three days.

Hydrogen sulfide and other chemicals released from the fire forced the temporary evacuation of approximately 2,000 nearby residents and local elementary school. In addition, the chemical released caused a fish kill in the Savannah River and caused the release of about 12 million gallons of contaminated water into the marsh near the facility, which covered more than 25 acres of wetlands.

The fire destroyed the company on the east side and caused millions of dollars in hazardous material cleanup. Smoke from the blaze could be seen as far as Jacksonville, Fla.

On April 10, 1995, an explosion at Powell Duffryn's facility near President Street extension led to a fire that burned about 500,000 gallons of turpentine.

The fire burned intermittently for three days.

Powell Duffryn will be responsible for paying for new fire department equipment that will enhance Savannah's HazMat services, including diagnostic devices and a fire-rescue boat, Rintoul said.

When battling the blaze, the Savannah Fire Department lost some hand-help equipment, such as hoses, Rintoul said, but nothing as large as a fire truck.

He added, though, that the fire department spent a "huge amount of resources," on the blaze.

The federal government did, as well, which is why it filed a complaint on July 25 alleging that Powell Duffryn violated the Clean Air Act.

According to the complaint, the government alleged that Powell Duffryn violated the Clean Air Act by

* "failing to exercise a general duty to identify hazards at its facility that could result in accidental releases of hazardous substances;

* "by failing to design and maintain a safe facility, and;

* "by failing to minimize the consequences of accidental releases."The complaint sought more than $1.5 million in costs incurred by the United States in response to the explosion.

City Manager Michael Brown said the fire and subsequent response to it cost Savannah several hundred thousand dollars, and also raised the city's preparedness in case of a major disaster.

The judgment of $320,000 is adequate, he said.

"It's in the ballpark of what they had been discussing," Brown said. "We'll be buying things we might not have been able to get on our own."

The fire and evacuation touched off dozens of lawsuits filed both by and against the company, which moved out of Savannah in 1997 . The company sold its property for $2.5 million.

At the time, company officials said Powell Duffryn would leave the United States entirely and instead focus on its ports and engineering companies in Great Britain.

Crime and public safety reporter Paula Reed Ward can be reached at 652-0360 or at paulaw@savannahnow.com.